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Liv Ottersen

The installation extends my painted practice into space.
Tulle, previously used as a grid-like overlay in my paintings, now inhabits

the space in between, playing with

the architectural structure—soft fabric contrasting with the solid arches.

“Unspoken Messages was one of Larnaca Biennale 2025’s outdoor highlights.”
— Michail Elia, Chief Coordinator

Developed in response to the 2025 Biennale theme Lines and Traces, the installation unfolds through movement, material, and shared gestures within the space in between the arches. Theme ‘In this fourth Larnaca Biennale, ́lines and traces ́ will form the support upon which we can imagine metaphoric, symbolic, and physical expressions of how we make sense of our world and our placement in it. From how lineages and traditions develop, how stories narrate, how thoughts are constructed, to how we move, how we connect and communicate, and how we create and produce meaning. As humans, we are primarily sustained by our actions and our movements in life. What if we would imagine our world along lines and traces? As a start, we can think of how our repetitive movements over a territory would leave a trace on the natural landscape and how scraping over a surface could make our existence seen thousands of years later. Not only do the traces speak to us about our past, they also inform our future. These lines become even more fascinating when they start reflecting connections between people: when the lines become an abstraction through which we communicate, but also a mark of our movement in history, a convergence or node.’ Sana López Abellán , Curator Larnaca Biennale 2025 (LB4)

Katarina walking in tulle_edited_edited.

In this Butoh performance, Katerina Drakopoulou engages the suspended tulle through movement.

note single_edited_edited.jpg
puting on the notes_edited_edited.jpg

At Zouhouri Square, Liv Ingeborg Ottersen is present for the entire duration of the biennale, welcoming visitors and inviting them to take part in her evolving artwork. The work begins with delicate strips of colored tulle, each threaded with fine cords, inviting passers by to attach their personal messages. Soft, almost iridescent shades of tulle create a dreamlike, floating backdrop. Over time, the fragments are woven together on-site, forming a flowing curtain that transforms as contributions accumulate. Participants are encouraged to write wishes, reflections, or private thoughts on small pieces of paper, folding them into sealed notes before fastening them to the hanging threads. These notes act as visual markers, recalling traditions in which offerings are placed or tied within sacred or communal spaces. By remaining sealed, the messages emphasize the interplay between what is revealed and what is kept hidden, offering intimacy while preserving mystery. As the installation expands, it evolves into a living, dynamic record shaped by communal participation, showing how words, intentions, and interactions leave enduring marks on each other and the shared world.

noah hanging note_edited_edited.jpg
people putting notes on 1_edited_edited.
lappeteppet mitt_edited_edited_edited.jp

© 2023 Liv Ottersen, livingthreads.net

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